Organ valve



1951 J. c. HALLMAN 2,577,580

ORGAN VALVE Filed Aug. 13, 1949 Z3 Z8 J] 39 21 50 26 2 3 R 11 if a -13 l 10 a 2 16b E 1 INVENTDR J. C. HALLMA N Patented Dec. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORGAN VALVE Jacob C. Hallman, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Application August 13, 1949, Serial No. 110,127 6- Claims. (01. 84-337) This invention relates to electric organs, and more particularly to electrically operated reed rgans wherein an improved valve mechanism is incorporated.

An object of this invention is to. provide an electrically operated valve that will permit ready access to the reed for inspection, repair or renewal.

A. further object of this invention is to provide a device for smoothly controlling the fiow of air through organ reeds both at the initiation and cessation of said flow. It is necesary to provide rapid closing of organ valves for rapid keying. This frequently results in an undesirable acoustical effect commonly known as a. thud. In the present invention this effect is reduced to insignificance by the provision of spring means. which normally tends to urge the valve into. an open position so that asthe valve closes the spring tension increases to thereby cushion the closing of the valve.

The foregoing and other objectsand advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the: several views and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a rank constructed in. accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2- is a section of a valve on the line.22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the valve actuating mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a section as in Fig. 2, illustrating an alternative mode of construction; and

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mode of converting reed vibration into corresponding electrical impulses.

Referring in detail to Figs. 1 to a. inclusive, a rank which may include as many as. it or more reeds, is founded upon a base [8 which preferably is of well seasoned hardwood. For each reed which is to be utilized, a channel is cut in one side of the base and opening through the upper end of the base. Each channel provides a reed cell i i. In the opposite side walls of each cell is provided a slot i2 extending substantially from the open upper end of the cell to the lower end of said cell, said slots forming guideways to receive the edges of a reed is as shown in Fig. 3.

Metal reeds, of the class used in this invention,,are commonly known in the art and need not be described. in detail. With the arrangement shown, the reed is inserted in the slot so that the tongue i3 is within the cell. As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, a plurality of these cells are arranged parallel with one another, all having their ends opening into a common ambient. at the upper end of base It Following. the cutting of the cells and slots, a wooden riser strip I4 is glued or otherwise firmly secured to the inner side of base to, the upper surface of the riser being flush with the upper end of base iii. The space between the outer side of the riser strip iii and each reed i3 is closed by a strip of felt it. It will therefore be clear from Fig. 2 that a continuous plane surface it is produced by the upper end of base it and the upper surface strip i l. By this arrangement the openings along the end of base it in conjunction with suitable closing means constitute valves for the cells. For this reason surface [5 which is formed by strip l4 and the edge of base It is called a valve seat.

It will be observed that the riser strip closes the open side of each cell at its upper end only, opposite the fixed end of tongue 13.

In the preferred construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a hood iii of medium gauge steel and having flanges it and it? along its two longitudinal sides, engages slot i i in riser strip i l and the remote corner Iii of member is. to form an enclosure or suction box for the cells and reeds in the entire rank.

Mounted on riser strip i i is the valve actuating mechanism. designated generally as H. Screws I8, [8 extend through bracket is into riser I l securing the bracket to the riser. Magnet coil 20 is secured by means of a core ii to bracket i9 through the medium of screw 22 threaded into core 2!. Soft iron arn'itduire 23, having a transverse recess 24 on its underside at one end, is pivoted by means of this recess on the lower edge of slot 25 in bracket 19. Felt valve head 26 mounted on backing board 2'! is secured through felt shock cushion 28 to a short strip of leaf spring 29 which in turn is secured by rivet 38 to armature 23 at a point remote of the pivot point 2 It will be seen therefore that, when the electro-magnet is energized, armature 23 raises valve head 25 from the valve seat to thereby open the opening to.

alarmist act with and press against knock-out projection 33 which extends outwardly from bracket I9. It will be seen that pressure by spring 32 against projection 33 is such as to tend to urge the valve into an open position. This spring pressure is very gentle when the valve is in a partially opened position, but increases markedly as the valve approaches a closed position, with the result that valve closure is cushioned so that the common thud arising in other organs of this nature is reduced.

It will be seen from Figs. 1, 2 and 4 that the armature may be removed from the entire magnet assembly by raising the transverse recess 25 from the lower edge of slot 25 and then withdrawing the armature from the slot. In this manner the valve head 2%; may be removed from over the opening to the cell. Then, if it is desired to inspect, clean, adjust or replace the reedtherein, it is merely necessary to withdraw the reed from the cell through the opening which had previously been covered by the valve head.

It should'be noted that a complete magnet and valve head assembly such as that described above is used for every reed and cell, and that in Fig. 1 only one such assembly is shown in order to simplify the drawing.

In the preferred construction, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, hood It forms an enclosure or suction box within which a partial vacuum is created by means of a suitably arranged air pump. That is to say the atmospheric pressure within hood :6 is reduced to a value considerably below that in the surrounding atmosphere.

When the blower system is not operating, the valve will be partially open due to spring pressure by leaf spring 32, even when magnet coil 20 is unenergized. However, when an inrush of air into the cell takes place due to the creation of a partial vacuum within the hood by the blower system, valve head 26 is drawn down upon seat I5 and thereafter no more air will enter the cell unless and until the magnet coil is energized by the organist. (Fig. 5 illustrates the position of the valve head when the valve is closed.) Spring pressure by leaf spring 32 is itself insuflicient to open the valve against the pressure of the surrounding air, although it is sufiicient to cushion the valve closing.

In organs in which the valve is arranged at the fluid exit from the cell, the valve closes against the flow of air and thudding occurs on valve closing due to the production of a condensation of air. Ihe air condensation strikes the reed tongue and imparts thereto the undesirable tran-v sient displacement referred to above as a thud. In this invention the cushioned closing of the valve takes place in the air inlet to produce a rarefaction which causes negligible transient displacement of the reed tongue and thudding is reduced to insignificance.

If the reed l3 were turned over so that tongue l3 projected upwardly within hood IE rather than downwardly within cell H, the reed would operate only if a pressure within hood It were maintained greater than atmospheric, but under these circumstances the valve mechanism utilized herein could not be applied since direction of airflow would therefore be the reverse. However, an alternative construction which can be utilized with this invention while still remaining within the scope thereof is illustrated in Fig. 5. Herein, a hood 34, which replaces hood E6 in the pre- [ferred construction, is arranged to encompass the valve actuating mechanism, the exit from reeds [3 being left open to atmospheric pressure. With this arrangement, it is therefore possible to use a blower system which creates a pressure within the hood that is higher than atmospheric, rather than, as in the preferred construction, utilizing a fluid flow pumping means which creates a partial vacuum within said hood. The preferred construction disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 has the constructional advantage that it is possible to service both the reeds and the valve actuating mechanism individually without having to disrupt the operation of the instrument; whereas in the device illustrated in Fig. 5 it would be possible to clean the reeds, but if replacements thereof were desired or if it were necessary to adjust the valve actuating mechanism, the hood 34 would have to be removed, thereby preventing operation of the entire rank.

The actual acoustical sound of the vibrating reeds is not utilized in this invention. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a screw 35 preferably of such electrically conductive material as brass, is threadedthrough the base of each reed cell so as to form a stylus projecting near, but nevertheless spaced from, the free end of reed tongue I3 Since stylus and reed tongue are metallic and insulated from each other, they form an electrical capacitor the value of which varies in-.

versely as the separation of the stylus and tongue. Hence vibration of the tongue due to air flow over it causes the electrical capacitance to vary. If a direct current potential is applied between tongue and stylus an alternating current will flow in the circuit since the electrical charge on a capacitor is a function of its capacitance.

In Fig. 6 a typical elementary schematic diagram is shown, by means of which the abovementioned alternating current flow caused by reed tongue vibration may be utilized. Battery 36 applies a direct current potential through resistor 31 between the stylus 35 and the tongue l3 Alternating current variations due to changing capacitance therefore cause an alternating voltage to appear across resistor 37. This voltage is coupled by capacitor 38 to control grid 39 of vacuum amplifier tube 40. (Terminal ll is the audio output terminal, a voltage appearing between that terminal and ground which voltage has a frequency equal to that of the reed tongue l3 The remainder of the amplifier circuit is of customary design and familiar to anyone skilled in the art and therefor will not be described.

For simplicity only one tongue and stylus is shown, but it will be understood that in practice all styli are connected in parallel, as are the reed tongues.

It is thought that the construction and use of the invention will be apparent from the above description of the various parts and their purpose. It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. The combination of a reed cell through which air is adapted to flow, having an air inlet port and an air outlet opening, a reed mounted in the reed cell for vibration by the air flow, a valve having a head movable to open and close said inlet port, the air flow normally retaining the head in port closing position, spring means tending' to urge the valve into an open position against the air flow, the pressure of said spring means being insufiicient to open the valve against the air flow but sufiicient to cushion the valve closing movement, and means for lifting the head from the port to permit air flow through the cell.

2. The combination of a reed cell through which air is adapted to flow, said reed cell having an air inlet port, and an air outlet opening, a reed mounted in the reed cell for vibration by the air flow, a valve head movable to open and close said inlet port, the air flow normally retaining the head in port closing position, an electro-magnet having an armature on which the head is mounted, a spring engaging the armature and tending to urge armature to open the valve against the air flow, the pressure of said spring being insufiicient to open the valve against the air flow but sufficient to cushion the valve closing movement, and means to energize the electro-magnet to raise the armature and lift the valve head from the port to permit air flow through the cell.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2, wherein the magnet is mounted on a frame and the spring comprises a leaf spring having one I end secured to the armature and the other being adapted to press against the frame to thereby tend to urge the valve into an open position.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 2, wherein the magnet includes a, frame on which the armature is pivoted, and wherein the spring comprises a leaf spring having one end secured to the armature intermediately of the point of pivot and the point of connection of the valve head, a projection on the frame on the opposite side of the fulcrum from said point of connection, the spring being adapted to press against the projection to thereby tend to urge the valve into an open position.

5. Means for actuating an organ valve having a seat and a head adapted to rest on the seat, comprising an electro-magnet having an armature on which the valve head is mounted, a frame for supporting the electro-magnet, straight edge on which the armature is pivoted, and a spring removably retaining the armature in pivotal engagement with the straight edge.

6. Means for actuating an organ valve having a seat and a head adapted to rest on the seat, comprising an electro-magnet having an armature on which the valve head is mounted, a frame for supporting the electro-magnet, a straight edge on which the armature is pivoted, and a leaf spring secured at one end to the armature and having its other end in engagement under compression with the frame to apply downward spring pressure to removably retain the armature in pivotal engagement with the straight edge.

JACOB C. HALLMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,061 Cline May 3, 1887 2,335,311 Reisner Nov. 30, 1943 2,462,531 Minshall Feb. 22, 1949 

